Justin JacksonAs a kid, I always assumed that older adults “felt their age.”
Now I’m nearly 43, but in my head I feel about 25.
I’ve learned that I’m not the only one! This phenomenon is called “subjective age.”
How about you? What age do you “feel” you are?
For more on "the subjective age you feel in your head," read this piece by @[email protected] on the @TheAtlantic:
Anders Eknert@mijustin Just turned 40. Subjective age ~60 before 9 AM, ~25 until 10 PM.
@anderseknert Lol. I feel this.
Ben Ramsey@mijustin I’m 44, and I don’t think of myself as being in my 40s, though some days, my body reminds me I am (but that’s also mostly due to bad diet and lack of exercise).
I’m like you, constantly thinking of myself in the 18-25 range. My son constantly reminds me that I am not 18-25. 😅
Evo Terra is back in the 🥵🌵
Pascal Laliberté@mijustin I’d say I feel in my late teens still. Early twenties. Constantly in a state of discovering, transitioning and establishing.
Definitely weird! And I’ve felt I’ve wanted to break out of a certain wall associated with that underlying age bracket.
It reminds me about how as a society we’ve discarded of coming-of-age ceremonies, rites of passage (you’re a man now because you survived a solo overnight in the wild). Those were with us for millennia.
@mijustin speaking of which, last year I did just that: a solo overnight in the wild, twice. Seeking that discomfort on purpose with some virile drive to conquer.
I’d say since then I have started “touching” my age.
Kat O’Brien@mijustin actual same age as you, but maybe late 20s like 28-29 feel.
Dan Rowden@mijustin Same. 37 but feel in my 20s
Stuart JonesReckon I've been 27 in my head for about 17 years now, whenever I thought about it (I'll be 44 in a couple of months time). Couldn't really say why, though.
Andrew Feeney@horuskol @mijustin 27 is probably about the age where we no longer wish to get any older. People are taking us seriously enough, and our physical bodies haven't yet stared to seriously degrade. Also, there's some evidence to suggest that the male brain reaches full maturity around age 28, so maybe that's got something to do with it.
That does make some sense, I suppose.
It also happens to be about the age when I decided to turn my world upside down (literally - I moved from the UK to Australia) - and while I've had a few other major life events since, that one was probably the biggest change all at once.
Ash Guy 
@mijustin this second, 70.
@mijustin but usually mid 20s for sure.
qwazix@mijustin three :-P. We are all three just pretending to be five. Sometimes.